The Baton Rouge Area Foundation announced in January plans to restore Baton Rouge’s Martin Luther King Jr. memorial downtown.
The memorial, a 1,200-pound contemporary sculpture installed on the River Center Plaza in 1997, has faded over the decades. The project includes restoring the inside of the structure, which has some rust, and then repainting the red-and-blue-hued exterior. Once completed, BRAF and Downtown Development District will also be “evaluating opportunities to enhance the contemplative space that surrounds it,” according to a statement.
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BRAF put together a website exploring the history of the project, the artist behind it and the planned restoration. According to BRAF, the restoration will be complete in early 2021.
Former BRAF chair Virginia Noland raised more than $70,000 for the restoration. Collaborators on the project include the city-parish government, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and DDD.
Last year, as the COVID-19 shutdown had residents getting outdoors more, 225 put together a guide to public art in and around downtown—as well as at LSU and Southern—to check out on a stroll or bike ride. Check out the guide here for info and history on the MLK memorial and other public art displays.